Saudi likens Gaza assault to Nazi war crimes

WAR CRIMES: Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel's deadly assault on the Gaza Strip, comparing it to Nazi war crimes. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia on Sunday compared Israel's deadly assault on the Gaza Strip to Nazi war crimes and urged a halt to its "mass killings" of Palestinians.

"Saudi Arabia, which condemns the Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people and the threats of Israeli officials to turn Gaza into an inferno, sees that Israel through its actions is copying the war crimes of the Nazis," an unidentified Saudi official told the official SPA news agency.

Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza militants has killed at least 70 Palestinians including children since early Saturday.

"Saudi Arabia calls on the international community to...work to stop the Israeli war machine and prevent it from carrying out mass killings and destroying the rights and property of the Palestinian people," the official added.

He appeared to be referring to remarks made by Israel's Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai, who used the Hebrew word "shoah" - generally used only for the Nazi Holocaust - in remarks to army radio on Friday.

"By intensifying the rocket fire and extending their reach (Gaza militants) are bringing onto themselves a worse catastrophe (shoah) as we will use all means to defend ourselves," Vilnai said.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who heads the Fatah faction, formally suspended all contacts with Israel on Sunday in protest at the blitz on the Gaza Strip, controlled by the rival Islamist movement Hamas.

The UN Security Council has similarly condemned the escalating violence and urged all parties to respect their obligations under international law.

Riyadh, a close ally of Washington, has played a key role in trying to halt inter-factional Palestinian violence. Last year, it brokered a power-sharing deal which led to a short-lived unity government between Fatah and Hamas.

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